Westfjords

From the Snæfellsnes Peninsula we took a ferry from Stykkishólmur to Brjánslækur in the Westfjords, a region with stunning scenery that is somewhat off the beaten track.….

Látrabjarg is the site of 14 kilometers of impressive cliffs that provide nesting places for approximately a zillion birds…. Gannets, guillemots, razorbills and puffins, among others. (We were there at the wrong time of day for puffins… apparently they spend their afternoons fishing in the ocean.)

June is Pride Month…. And we noted that Icelanders are either very proud, or else fond of the rainbow!

Salt in the olden days was a precious commodity, traded all over the world. The industry was abandoned in Iceland at one point, but resuscitated in the Westfjords not so long ago. The processing facility was next to one of our campgrounds.

Five different types of salt to try – flaky, seaweed, licorice (!), birch-smoked and lava… all of them processed from Greenland Sea water in this remote facility and shipped around the globe!

We very much enjoyed visiting about world issues with the young Croatian salt maker.

And at last, Henry got a chance to acquire a vehicle license plate from Iceland, trading it for an old Texas plate…

A few words about our (mostly) trusty vehicle and the camping experience. We are generally required to overnight in established campgrounds. Reiner, the like-minded traveler we met in Namibia last year, has been to Iceland many times and gave us suggestions and directions to one or two “special” camping spots….. like this one….

This poor motor home (I’ve been calling her Bessie Mae) has been through many rodeos, and creaks and moans a lot as we take advantage of her features. After several days of intense searching, we finally found a can of WD-40, which Henry generously applied to some of Bessie Mae’s tender joints. She is very grateful.

Bessie Mae is bigger than what we expected, with a nice eating area….

A little kitchen space, teeny bath with toilet and shower, two bunk beds where we store our luggage, and a bed that descends from the ceiling for sleeping!

Although we generally prefer to find remote areas to spend the night, we have had great luck with beautiful campgrounds, in spite of having neighbors……

And remember – this far north at this time of year, the sun never fully sets. Here is midnight in another lovely place:

A view we are all rich enough to share!

(Lest you think I have turned coward, please know that I will in fact mangle some more place names in a future post or two! Stay tuned!)